The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ground station and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to anchoring a UAV to a ground station when landed.
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone and referred to as a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is an aircraft without a human pilot aboard. Its flight is controlled either autonomously by onboard computers or by the remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle. The typical launch and recovery method of an unmanned aircraft is by the function of an automatic system or an external operator on the ground.
Drones of commercial value are the result of recent advances in microprocessors, GPS, sensors, batteries, motors, lightweight structural materials, and advanced manufacturing techniques. Commercially utilized UAVs may efficiently perform surveillance, mapping, monitoring, tracking, videography, logistics operations and other tasks without extended effort or human risk. However, typically, UAVs are remote controlled, thus necessitating an operator to control the movements of the UAV and its landing process. This becomes problematic, however, when the UAV is deployed over obscured areas of land and/or requires intensive, long-range remote control scenarios that often include the need to remotely land a UAV (e.g., in order to recharge or replace a battery). The remote landing process for an operator, however, is often difficult, error-prone and task-dependent, which increases the probability of damaging or destroying a UAV, resulting in considerable expense. In addition, a damaged UAV may delay a project, causing additional time and expense. Using conventional UAV systems, some operators may become fairly proficient in remotely landing a UAV. Frequently, however, an operator requires extensive training and practice to be able to successfully remotely land a UAV on a consistent basis. The time and expense required to train an operator to perform remote UAV landings is cost prohibitive to many companies that would benefit from the use of a UAV. Moreover, even when adequately trained, an operator still has a fairly high risk of damaging or destroying a UAV during a remote UAV landing.
A UAV ground station is an apparatus from which a UAV may takeoff, land and/or be stored until its next flight. The UAV ground station may include a shell containing a UAV storage area that functions as a takeoff area and/or a landing pad when the UAV is not being stored. Ground control stations may also control the UAV during a manual mode of operation, mostly to assist a manual operation and landing of the UAV.